The First to Fly Myth in The Garden that Burned | World Anvil

The First to Fly

Brief Overview

The story is about the first Divine Servant to get wings and the creation of birds.

General Overview

This myth is typically recounted as a cautionary tale meant to teach children the difference between sharing and self-destructive generosity. The mortals of the world believe it to be only a fable. Little do they realize that not only is this one of the oldest myths passed down through numerous cultures, but it's rooted in real historical elements.

Variations & Mutation

Eastern Variation

In the eastern variation, the Divine servant becomes a Forsaken once she's run out of feathers, and she is forced to serve amoral deities after.

Adele's Variation

In Adele, they believe that after the Divine servant ran out of feathers, she descended into the seas to become the first Siren in Eden...
Though some say that in the true version of this tale, the birds never returned for her, and she died when Wintur came.

The Original Myth

"As the lands grew colder in a faraway place, a Divine servant fell down from space.
The ponds froze over, and the furless rats cried. As day by day, they began to die.
But the servant, she saw them, and this servant was kind. She gifted each one a feather to fly.
One feather grew more, and the rats took to the skies to find warmer lands where their species could thrive.
One by one she gave her feathers away, until her wings were stripped bare, and her skin turned to grey.
For now that she'd given them all that she owned, she sat there with nothing, and she sat there alone.
But when the clouds cleared and she opened her eyes, the birds returned to help her take back the skies."
- The children of Eden
Most cultures believe this to be the true story. To add more context, this version is about a Divine servant who fell from space when Kyubi wagged her eighth tail and triggered a 500-year ice age. Many of the smaller mammals began to die because the grounds were too frozen to burrow so the Divine servant gave them all feathers to keep them warm and allow them to migrate away from Kyubi's cold. Unfortunately, giving away that many feathers in one day stripped the Divine servant bare and made her unable to fly. She was forced to wait out the night before the newly formed birds noticed she was gone and returned to help lift her along with them.

In the Geodian version the servant fell from Heaven during The Fall and her hidden task given by Geodea was to create the birds. They believe she helped the birds migrate and was whisked away back to the heavens, however, the general population rejects that theory.

The Truth

The actual story is much different and didn't even take place on Eden, it was in the Underworld. A Demigod child fell through her reflection by mistake and landed in the Underworld. She searched around for a way home for a while, but decided she needed higher ground, so she traveled to a nearby mountaintop. Once there, she met oddly formed bipedal creatures who were struggling to survive the tough mountain terrain, so she gifted each of them a feather knowing they could grow wings with them. These creatures later become known as the Harpies. In return, they taught her to sing, and she went on her merry way, but at the foot of the mountain the young Demigod ran into Hades. The god of the Underworld was so moved by her generosity that he gave her a gift and showed her the way home.

There was never any mention of a Divine servant, the Underworld, or even the Harpies in the myth. Though years of passing stories through not only time, but planes of existence, have taken their toll.
The Demigod is said to have been the daughter of the goddess Geodea and she is known most for her role as Commander in the Cosmos Wars. She singlehandedly took on 324 Kyeye's and convinced Stellae to sign the treaty that brought the peace that Eden's solar system, Totus Stellae is still benefitting from to this day.
Very few who are alive in this age are aware of her historical relevance or even her connection to this myth, though it was confirmed to be her when asked and after it was discovered that the Harpies also have a statue of the Demigod standing at the edge of their cliffs in the Underworld with her wings spread, ready to take to the skies...

In Art

She's usually depicted as a wingless servant in statues, but in paintings & tapestries, there is typically a flock of birds either flying away from her or surrounding her.
She's also been seen as a young girl with broken wings. Her hands outstretched, full of bloody feathers.
Lovely wings by SilviaP_Design


Date of First Recording
The first time this tale was told was long before humanity was around to record history. It was recorded first in the Elvish calendar on Lulan, Jamad the 5th. 0006, 01.
Date of Setting
Lulin, Jamad the 1st. 0006, 01.
Telling / Prose
Related Species
Related Locations
Divine Servant
Species | Dec 23, 2023
Forsaken
Species | Dec 27, 2023
 
Geodian
Organization | Dec 28, 2023
Stellae
Character | Dec 27, 2023

Cover image: by Vogue0987

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